Former aide takes on challenge of campaign

By JASON ROSENBAUM of the Tribune's staff

Wednesday

Jul 30, 2008 at 12:01 AM

Accompanied by a couple of campaign volunteers, Mary Still spent part of a recent day going to homes in central Columbia. Within an hour, she had conversed with prospective voters, stopped by the homes of supporters and found time to fix yard signs that a storm had upset.

2000 Country Club Drive S.

? Personal: 54. Married to Russell Still. They have two children.

? Education: Bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, 1976.

? Occupation: Recently retired as a communications aide for Attorney General Jay Nixon. Formerly served as communications aide for then-Gov. Bob Holden and as chief of the MU News Bureau.

? Community activities: Administrative council chairwoman of the Missouri United Methodist Church, Blind Boone Foundation member, University of Missouri Jefferson Club member, Friends of the University of Missouri Library member, former Girl Scout leader and former Sunday school teacher.

A former communications aide to Attorney General Jay Nixon and former Gov. Bob Holden, Still is enjoying the campaign experience. "I think it's been fun," she said.

She said her long tenure as a state government aide as well as her time with the University of Missouri News Bureau would allow her to hit the ground running in the General Assembly. She faces Sean Spence and Bob Pund in the Aug. 5 Democratic primary for the 25th House District seat. The primary winner faces Republican Ryan Asbridge in the November election.

Born in Arkansas, Still has worked for nearly three decades in the public sector. After serving as chief of the MU News Bureau, she was a communications aide for Holden and later for Nixon.

Still took early retirement from state government earlier this year. When state Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, started seriously considering a run for Congress, Still decided to run for office.

Linda Hutton, a friend who assisted with a local Girl Scout troop, praised what she said were Still's generosity and willingness to do things without "patting herself on the back." Hutton recalled an instance where Still provided a car to a college student who needed to commute to a job.

She also said Still would be able to use her knowledge of the process to successfully deal with the legislature. "In all those years commuting to Jefferson City, she knew the issues," Hutton said. "And she knew the arguments on both sides."

Still said she would be a "strong voice" for a district that includes MU. "I see myself as a consensus builder," she said. "But I think you really have to be aggressive and stick up for your district. And that's kind of what my No. 1 thought is: You vote your district."

Still's ability to spar was on display this year after state DNR Director Doyle Childers criticized the attorney general staff, including Still. Childers said it was wrong for Nixon's office to alert special-interest groups the day before his office filed a 2005 lawsuit contending DNR could not legally surrender its interest in an abandoned railroad bridge over the Missouri River at Boonville because the bridge was part of the Katy Trail. Courts subsequently dismissed the lawsuit.

Nixon's spokesman declined to respond to Childers' criticism, but Still defended the move as part of her job to communicate with constituency groups when Nixon had policy announcements.

Like many Democratic candidates, Still includes among her goals a desire to reverse eligibility cuts made in 2005 to the state's Medicaid program.

In the longer term, she said, she would like to incorporate commercial real estate taxes into the state's educational foundation formula. Not having such a requirement allows school districts with sizable companies - such as Ladue, which is home to Monsanto - to have better-funded school districts, she said. Still acknowledges that proposal might spur opposition from districts with extensive commercial real estate. But she said it would require coalition building.

At her campaign kickoff, Holden told the crowd at Orr Street Studios that Still had the attributes to of a fine legislator. "You will not find anybody more committed, more dedicated or compassionate - and also passionate - about the issues she believes in," he said.

Reach Jason Rosenbaum at (573) 815-1724 or jrosenbaum@tribmail.com.

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